MISC Hull B cargo layouts for landing fully loaded

This image shows possible options for the cargo layout of the MISC Hull B which is currently in concept development and not yet released. In the original specifications the ship carries one crew member and has a total cargo capacity of 384 SCU, with a length of 49 meters when the cargo spindle is in the extended position. In the Railen Q&A it was revealed the ship has been updated to carry two crew. These layouts are shown using green 24 SCU containers and yellow 32 SCU containers scaled to the 49 meter extended length. The dimensions of the 24 SCU container is 2.5x2.5x7.5 meters and the 32 SCU container is 2.5x2.5x10 meters.

The Hull B like the Hull A is intended to have the ability to land with a full cargo load while the spindle is in the extend position, which gives them more flexibility than the much larger Hull C/D/E ships in the series that are limited to space based cargo delivery when fully loaded. However the Hull B concept like the larger ships in the series is shown to have a similar cargo layout with containers on the top, bottom, left, and right of the cargo spindle. This has become a possible design challenge when accounting for its intended ability to land with a full cargo load, so it has been theorized that a rework to the cargo layout may be required so that the length of the landing gear can be kept to reasonable proportions.

The 1st layout in this comparison shows its 384 SCU capacity arranged in 24 SCU containers in each of the four positions around the spindle. This most closely resembles the initial concept images for the Hull B. It can be readily seen that the length of the landing gear would be significant for ground clearance when the lower cargo arm is deployed. The subsequent cargo layouts show possible options that would reduce the landing gear length.

The 2nd layout is shown with its cargo arranged on only the left and right positions of the spindle on single larger cargo platforms. This would reduce the complexity of the spindle but may result in more complex folding cargo platforms to fit in the compact space when retracted.

The 3rd layout arranges the containers in the left and right positions using a split platform setup similar to the Hull A. This would reduce the spindle complexity compared to having four separate spindle arms and retain a smaller individual folding cargo platform size.

The 4th layout shows a possible tandem solution that would be similar to the Hull C but only using the left and right cargo positions, which would in theory give the shortest landing gear length but increase the overall length of the ship beyond 49 meters in addition to increasing the complexity of the spindle mechanism.

The Hull B even in its concept length of 49 meters appears to have plenty of room to accomodate the larger standard 32 SCU container so the remaining layouts are portrayed with that container size in mind. The Hull B however may require a cargo loadmaster station with mounted tractor beam turrets to handle that container size.

The 5th layout is similar to the 1st with cargo in all four positions, but using 32 SCU containers reduces the height and ground clearance needed because the containers are not stacked. This version was seen several years ago in a whitebox image showing potential Hull series cargo layouts.

The 6th layout is a compact solution for a shorter landing gear that would minimize the complexity of the spindle using only the left and right cargo positions with 32 SCU containers.

The final three layouts show the potential for increasing the overall capacity to 512 SCU using 32 SCU containers. The 7th layout matches the 2nd, the 8th layout matches the 3rd, and the 9th layout matches the 4th, but using the larger maximum container size.

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